Spotlight Stories

Horacio Espinosa '89 Sc.M., '90 Sc.M., '92 Ph.D. has spent his career finding answers that are reshaping how we understand materials, medicine, and the microscopic world. A three-time Brown graduate and world-leading researcher, Espinosa is the 2026 recipient of the Horace Mann Medal, the Brown Graduate School's highest honor for alumni who have made significant contributions in their field.

After graduating from Brown University with a focus on sustainable energy, Jacquie Pierri ’12 took her hockey talents to the global stage, competing for the host, Team Italy, in the 2026 Winter Olympics. As an engineer and EcoAthlete, she is leveraging her platform as a hockey player to champion climate change awareness and sustainable innovation in sports.

Assistant Professor Mehdi Saligane explores new ways to design silicon, combining energy-efficient circuits, artificial intelligence, and open design ecosystems to make advanced chip design faster, more efficient, and more accessible.

Howard E. Zimmerman Assistant Professor of Engineering and Brain Science Leo Kozachkov studies how intelligence works through the lens of engineering, mathematics and computer science.

School of Engineering alumni John Huddleston ’21 and Anand Lalwani ’18 named to Forbes 30 Under 30 list. Brown’s School of Engineering has now had seven selections in the past seven years.

Gatesi, an Engineering Physics and environmental sciences concentrator, is researching “the most promising alternative” to standard lithium ion batteries by manipulating Lithium Lanthanum Zirconium Tantalum Oxide (LLZTO) to be more sustainable.

Brown doctoral student paves his path to an entrepreneurial career by expanding science from the Shukla Lab through Brown Technology Innovations and the newly-launched NSF I-Corps chapter on campus.

Motivated by the grand challenges in sustainability, Joy Zeng is building a group of electrocatalysis experimentalists at Brown she calls Zengineers.

As a materials science innovator, Brown’s newest Associate Professor of Engineering plans to stay curious. This curiosity is what he believes drives discovery in battery research and energy technologies.